


On The Edge of One's Seat

by Elya_Rho



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily (DCU), Brothers, Gen, Hanging Out, Movie Night, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23224603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elya_Rho/pseuds/Elya_Rho
Summary: The brothers settle in for a good old-fashioned movie night on Halloween.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 113





	On The Edge of One's Seat

**Author's Note:**

> I realize this isn't very timely. I wanted to write it for last Halloween, but until recently I have been terrible both at making myself write at all and actually finishing things. That said, in light of recent events, I thought people might enjoy something light-hearted and fluffy to read, so I dusted this off and hunkered down (and everything around me is closed right now, so there's not much else to do but write).
> 
> On another note, if anyone out there wants to request a batbro fic, drop me a line. I'd be more than happy to take suggestions. If I can brighten anyone's day by hammering out a few short fics a week, I'm certainly willing to try!
> 
> All the best!

* * *

"I think we need to consider our options here," Dick said, keeping his voice completely calm and reasonable. It was the only way to deal with his hot-headed brother if he wanted to have any chance of coming out on top. "Not all of us really like seeing blood and guts in the name of entertainment."

"Seriously, Dick?" Jason groaned, not bothering to even try to hide the fact that he was rolling his eyes. "We are _not_ watching some lame comedy. It's _Halloween_ and that means it's a scary movie, or nothing!"

"And that's fine, most of the time," Dick agreed, "except the ones you've chosen are pretty graphic. This one has dismemberments, coarse language, adult themes, _et cetera_ , and this one has ... _oh my God_ , Jay, you are _not_ showing this one to Damian!"

Jason grinned unrepentantly. "Afraid he'll get ideas?"

"Afraid he'll need _therapy_ is more like it. He's twelve, he can't watch this stuff! Where did you even find this? How do I delete this from the library?"

Jason shrugged and leaned back on the couch, casually raising his feet to rest on the table in front of him.

Dick tried to ignore the fact that his younger brother was smirking at him. It was nothing new. Somehow, movie nights always started the same way. It was a fight over what to watch and what snacks to have. It was a fight over who had to sit where and who got the fluffy blanket. There were complaints that it was too hot, too cold, or someone, usually Jason, had eaten too many onions before making their way to the couch. Never mind the fact that Dick was fairly certain that Jason purposely ate smelly food beforehand to guarantee himself ample space on said couch.

Most of the time, movie nights seemed only to underscore the fact that they squabbled like children despite the fact that they were all (mostly) adults and usually fully capable of making compromises. There were no compromises to be had when things got truly heated, however. Even Alfred stayed out of things when the simple act of selecting a movie devolved into all-out war for control the remote.

In short, movie nights were a violent mess until the film actually started, at which point all four brothers would settle in amicably to watch whatever the victor had deemed desirable.

It wasn't going to go that way tonight, though. On that matter, Dick was determined. Tonight, reason would prevail and they would have a peaceful evening with limited blood spillage. It was all a matter of successful compromise and Dick was an excellent negotiator.

"I'm serious, Jay, we have to keep things at least somewhat under control. Think of what Alfred would say if he came in and saw us watching this ... _this_ ... cheerleader-vampire-gratuitously-violent-movie-that-is-almost-but-not-quite-a-porno thing."

Jason grinned. "You forgot the fact that it's the _unrated_ version. It has all the parts that didn't make it into the first cut."

Dick sighed deeply. What had he ever done to deserve this?

"Did you guys decide yet?" Tim's voice cut into the discussion as he made his way into the den.

"It's still under discussion. Any suggestions?"

Tim stifled a yawn as he staggered to the couch and flopped down on Jason's left side, squeezing himself into the narrow space between his brother and the arm of the seat. Jason growled in annoyance, but surprisingly gave way and shifted slightly, giving his younger brother space.

It was difficult for Dick to avoid letting a smile cross his face as he watched his siblings. There had been a time when any close proximity between the two would have resulted in violence, but now Jason hadn't even seen the need to verbally berate Tim for stealing his spot. It was a small gesture, but it warmed Dick's heart to see it nonetheless.

Tim, however, didn't stop with snagging the coveted end spot on the couch. In one stealthy movement, he snagged the blanket off the back cushion, expertly sliding it out from behind Jason as he immediately began wrapping it around himself.

"What the hell?" Jason complained. "You don't get the good spot _and_ the fluffy blanket."

Tim didn't pause in his movements, carefully winding the blanket around himself until he was neatly wrapped in its warm embrace. He tucked the edges under his feet, which were pulled up onto the couch and the end result was that only his face was visible peeking out from his cocoon.

"Seriously, Replacement, you need to share."

"But I'm _cold_." Tim blinked up at Jason, apparently not bothered in the slightest by the larger man's show of irritation.

Jason let out another low growl. "You wouldn't _be_ cold if you didn't spend all your time in the cave."

"I'm still trying to find the art from the museum heist last week," Tim protested. "The longer I leave it, the more likely it is to be gone forever. I shouldn’t even be up here now; I should still be working!"

Dick exchanged an exasperated glance with Jason. They both knew Tim wasn't going to be solving any cases until he let himself take a break and relax for a little while. The only reason Tim was upstairs at all was due to Alfred banning him from the cave for the night. Calling him on his obvious exhaustion wouldn't do any good, however, and would only serve to make Tim defensive. Besides, it was almost a certainty that the overworked teen would fall asleep within the first half-hour of whichever movie they decided to watch, so he'd get rest even if he didn't want it.

Jason made a half-hearted effort to snag part of the blanket, prompting Tim to clutch it even closer to himself. Dick took advantage of the distraction and clicked the remote, exiting the menu showing the details of the explicit vampire movie and subtly moving into the more age-appropriate family flicks menu.

"I have no desire to watch anything with singing in it," Damian announced as he entered the room. He flopped down next to Jason and scowled as though being there at all was an inconvenience. As though Dick didn't know how much he secretly loved movie nights!

"Oh, I second that!" Tim said, his voice slightly muffled as he had somehow managed to tug the blanket even closer so it covered everything but his eyes. Jason had clearly given up on stealing it from him, but Tim was not the kind of person to take chances.

Dick raised an eyebrow.

"I think you're outvoted," Jason grinned. "I told you that it has to be something scary. It's Halloween and the usual kid-friendly sugar-fests aren't going to cut it."

With a sigh, Dick exited the family menu and went back to the horror section. "Only if we can find something we can all watch."

"Is that comment directed at me, Grayson?" Damian frowned. "I assure you that I am fully capable of handling any of these films."

"And I'm seventeen, so no matter what you say, I can watch any of the rated-R ones," Tim added.

"And if _Drake_ can watch them, so can I!" Damian announced with a finality that promised a fight if he didn't get his way.

Jason's smile widened and Dick found himself growing wary. Jason was going to do something that was going to cause problems -

"Why don't we let Damian pick?"

 _Like that_.

Dick shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea -"

"You don't think I'm capable of choosing an appropriate movie?" Damian asked as he narrowed his gaze at Dick.

"It's not just about what's _appropriate_ ," Jason cut in before Dick could respond. "It's about finding _perfection._ You have to find something that is going the terrify the audience. It has to have ambience and tension; it has to make you sit on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen next. It has to make you jump when something scary happens and yell at the screen when someone is going to do something stupid. You have to find something that absorbs your attention completely and makes it hard to fall asleep afterwards because you can't stop thinking about it."

Damian bit his lip thoughtfully. "Do you really think such a film exists? With the exception of Drake, we are not particularly easy to scare."

" _Really_?" Tim sighed.

"That's part of the challenge," Jason replied, heading off the argument before it could start. "You have to shut off the logical parts of your brain and let yourself get sucked in. It may not be real, but you have to allow yourself to believe that it _could_ be. It's hard to find that kind of movie."

Dick groaned as Damian turned to him. The boy's face was determined - a challenge had been made and Damian was going to do his best to meet it.

Dick handed the remote to his youngest brother. "Nothing too gory, okay? And no sex."

"Todd informed me the movie had to be terrifying," Damian retorted. "Sex is ridiculous and decidedly not scary."

" _Well_ …" Jason mused.

"Right!" Dick hurriedly interrupted. "Sex isn't scary, so we don't want to watch it, right?"

Damian was nodding in distracted agreement, so Dick took that as a win. He glared at Jason, who shrugged unrepentantly. Tim merely yawned.

It was only another five or six minutes before Damian announced his decision and at first glance, Dick couldn't find any problems with it. It was a ghost story that promised chills and thrills that would leave the audience on the edge of their seats.

Purely by chance, Damian had happened upon a film with a description that hit almost all the key points Jason had made. Whether or not it could deliver spine-tingling supernatural terror as it claimed had yet to be seen, but Dick doubted it could be anywhere near as scary as it professed.

"Okay," Dick acquiesced. "Let's give it a go."

Damian started the movie as Dick gently pushed the boy towards the centre cushions and planted himself in the end spot. He met Damian's glare with a bright smile. Being the eldest had privileges though, and one of those privileges was the end spot on the couch. To his credit, Damian merely crossed his arms in irritation and turned his attention to the film.

For the first half-hour or so, nothing particularly interesting happened, which meant that Damian spent most of that time complaining that he had clearly been misled by the description of the movie and that they should choose another.

He stopped commenting the moment the haunting began in earnest. Dick kept his attention divided between what was happening on screen and what was happening beside him on the couch.

Damian's eyes were wide. He was clearly not frightened by the events being depicted, but was instead entirely enthralled. It was probably the first time he'd watched a movie like this and Dick smiled as he caught the younger boy leaning forward slightly as the movie heroine made her way through the spooky abandoned manor in search of her missing boyfriend.

Jason was likewise unafraid of the self-professed _chilling_ film. He seemed utterly relaxed with one arm stretched along the back of the couch and the other almost-but-not-quite tucked around Tim, who was unsurprisingly fast asleep. Dick had to smother the urge to pull out his phone and get a picture. If he gave any indication that he was aware of how the blanket-wrapped teen was essentially snuggled against Jason's side, it would break the spell. Jason would feel embarrassed, defensive, or both and he would absolutely distance himself from the situation through whatever means he deemed necessary.

Nope, Dick wasn't going to let on that he noticed, even though he had to bite his lip to keep from grinning.

He looked back to the screen just in time for a classic jump scare that had Damian sitting back and rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, it was just a cat. Why is she screaming so much?"

"It's all about the location," Jason said, keeping his voice low. "Creepy house, creaking floors, muffled voices … she's already on edge and expecting something to happen, so when something finally does, she overreacts."

Damian gave an unsatisfied grunt.

It didn't take long for the film to suck the boy back in, however, and as the heroine was trapped in a room with flickering lights and threatening shadows, even Dick found himself watching intently.

The woman's breath was ragged as she felt her way along the walls in a desperate search for something that would save her from the looming presence that lurked all around her. The door was locked and she bit back a cry as she tried fruitlessly to escape. The lights flickered again and went out. A low moan sounded -

And something grabbed the back of Dick's neck.

Dick yelped loudly and sprang to his feet, sending Damian sprawling onto the now-empty couch cushion. He whirled to face the threat -

Only to see Jason laughing at him with far too much satisfaction on his face.

Dick gaped at him. "Really? I can't _believe_ you!"

Jason shook with mirth. "I couldn't _not_ do it! You were so into it, Dickface! You looked like you weren't even _breathing_ you were so scared!"

Damian righted himself on the couch and grabbed the remote so he could pause the movie.

"I wasn't scared," Dick protested. "I was … shutting off the logical part of my brain and letting myself get sucked into the story."

Jason smirked. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

Damian let out a long-suffering sigh. "We missed what happened. Now we have to take it back a bit."

Dick took his spot back, settling into the still-warm cushions as Damian restarted the movie. Jason's fingers tickled at the back of his neck, clearly with the intent of irritating the oldest brother instead of scaring him this time.

Dick merely slid to the floor, resting his back against the front of the couch as he pretended not to notice Jason's soft snort of amusement. Damian immediately moved to take over the empty space, pulling his feet up beside him.

Tim slept through it all.

They managed to watch in silence for the next twenty minutes or so before Damian spoke.

"I don't understand," Damian confessed. "The lead character seemed fairly competent at the beginning of the film, but now she's seeking to attack the ghost with a broom handle. What good will a broom be against a non-corporeal opponent? And why does she keep removing layers of clothing? Her breath is fogging in front of her, so it is clearly not warm enough to warrant shedding her clothes. How does any of this make sense?"

"It doesn't, really," Dick admitted. "That's kind of how these movies go, though. They're campy and ridiculous, and they pretty much just try to get people in as little clothing as possible. She'll probably end up covered in blood by the end."

"Whose blood, though? She's the only one there."

"Ghost blood, probably," Jason mused. "Left over from the previous victims who were buried in the basement. Or they'll just make it suddenly start to rain so she can get drenched. That happens a lot, too."

"Barely-clothed women armed with brooms running around in the rain being chased by ghosts?" Damian sighed.

Dick grinned. "Not that exact scenario, but barely-clothed women in the rain, sure."

They fell silent again, and Dick shook his head when Jason's prediction was proved almost ridiculously accurate within the next few minutes.

The heroine's previously-missing boyfriend suddenly emerged from the darkness, illuminated by an ominous bolt of lightning that streaked across the sky. The rain and thunder followed almost immediately after as the woman raced forward to embrace her lover. Another bolt of lightning brought her up short as the light revealed said boyfriend's lifeless gaze and blood-streaked features.

"He's totally possessed," Jason muttered.

"Shh!" Dick hissed.

The fight scene was both short and excessively bloody, resulting in the heroine getting soaked in both rain _and_ blood, much to Damian's obvious annoyance. The boy sighed audibly as the woman onscreen was forced to kill her possessed boyfriend and finally made her escape in a battered old pickup truck that she'd happened across earlier in the movie.

" _That's it_?" Damian groused. "All that time spent looking for her boyfriend and she ended up killing him?"

"He's probably not dead," Jason pointed out. "They want you to think he is and breathe a sigh of relief that she's safe, but any second now she's going to look in her rear-view mirror and -"

The woman onscreen screamed as she glanced in her mirror only to see the cold, dead gaze of her boyfriend staring back at her from the backseat. There was a loud cacophony of music and the movie switched to a black screen. The heroine's screams echoed for a moment before the credits began to roll.

" _That's_ it?" Damian nearly growled. "She died? After nearly two hours of watching her try to escape a _house_ , she just _died_? And her boyfriend killed her?"

"To be fair, she killed him first," Jason said.

"He was already possessed," Dick pointed out, turning slightly on the floor so he could better see his brothers. "At that point, he was probably already dead and would have carried on with the ghost's vendetta. She didn't really have a choice."

Damian looked thoughtful. "So killing is acceptable when the victim is possessed by a homicidal spirit?"

"Only in a movie," Dick replied firmly before quickly switching the topic. "Other than that, what did you think? Were you scared at all?"

The scoff that escaped the twelve-year-old was one of pure disdain. "Please. The only scary thing about that film was the utter lack of anything resembling quality. I will have no trouble at all falling asleep tonight."

Dick laughed. "Speaking of bedtime, it's pretty late. We should call it a night."

Damian didn't argue for once. He merely rose to his feet, glancing over at Jason and Tim as he did so.

Dick was a vigilante, well trained in combat and the art of expecting the unexpected, but even he could never have anticipated the strangled sound of alarm that escaped Damian's mouth as the younger boy suddenly reeled back and tripped over Dick's feet.

He fell backwards and would have landed on the coffee table if it hadn't been for Dick grabbing him and yanking Damian into his arms as the boy fell.

Damian struggled for a moment as Dick turned to see what exactly had caused such a reaction in the normally stoic boy.

A chill ran down Dick's spine.

"Well, _damn_ ," he muttered as he looked at Tim.

The teen was still wrapped in his blanket, fast asleep and dead to the world, but his dark-rimmed eyes were open and staring at nothing. A blank expression was on his face and the resemblance between him and the possessed boyfriend on the movie was definitely eerie.

"That's … really unsettling," Jason muttered as he waved his hand in front of Tim's face a few times. There was no reaction.

"We have to kill him," Damian announced. "It's for the good of us all."

Dick tightened his grip on his youngest brother, just in case he was serious about it. Clearly, Damian wasn't as blasé about the movie as he had claimed. "Nobody is killing Tim. He's just … doing something really creepy with his eyes right now."

Jason shook Tim a little and the teen's head lolled slightly, but he didn't even blink. "Oo-kay, I know Timbo needs to sleep and everything, but I think we should maybe wake him up. Make that _definitely_. We should definitely wake him up."

"Maybe we should just put him in bed," Dick countered, frowning as he observed Tim's unnerving state.

"Good idea," Damian agreed. "We can put something heavy in front of his door so he can't get out and murder us in our sleep."

"He's not going to murder anyone," Dick said in the most reasonable voice he could muster. "He's not possessed."

"That's exactly what the woman in the movie thought!" Damian growled. "Then she got murdered in her car, so she was clearly wrong."

Jason climbed to his feet, easily lifting Tim in his blanket-cocoon with him. "See? He closed his eyes again. I'll just toss our little ghost-boy in his room and he'll be fine."

"Good night," Dick said as Jason left the room, no doubt using Tim as an excuse to beat a hasty retreat so he wouldn't have to clean up the bowls of snack food that were lying around.

"Lock his door!" Damian called.

"Maybe we should watch a musical next time," Dick sighed.

"I'm not scared!"

"I didn't say you were."

"There was nothing scary about it," Damian reiterated petulantly. "It was a low-budget, poorly-acted monstrosity that bore no resemblance to anything in the realm of possibility, so there is absolutely no reason at all to be disturbed by it."

Dick once again found himself fighting back a smile. "You're absolutely right. Know what, though?"

Damian looked at him suspiciously. "What?"

"I don't really like ghost movies and it kinda creeped me out a little."

The youngest Wayne looked unconvinced.

"Seriously," Dick shrugged. "I may even have nightmares tonight and if they aren't about the movie, they'll be about feeling Jason's hand creeping along the back of my neck. That was horrible."

"You … expect your sleep to be disturbed?" Damian frowned.

Dick nodded sombrely. "Probably."

"I could … stay with you tonight. If you wanted," Damian offered. "I could wake you if you have a nightmare."

"I wouldn't want to bother you," Dick said, letting a hint of hesitance into his tone.

Damian squared his shoulders. "It is my duty as your brother to protect you, both from physical threats and imaginary ones. I will guard you tonight and you will sleep soundly."

Dick smiled. "If you're certain, little brother. I won't say no. Let's clean all this up and then we can turn in."

It didn't take long to clear away all signs of movie night. While Damian got ready for bed, Dick took a moment to check in on Tim, who was thankfully sleeping soundly like a normal human being with fully-closed eyes.

By the time Dick climbed into bed and wished Damian a pleasant night, he was more than ready for blissful unconsciousness.

And neither one of them had nightmares.

* * *

The End


End file.
